Forgiveness
by Deandra
Summary: Eothain must come to terms with his past. ONESHOT. Part 140 of the Elfwine Chronicles.


_**Part 140 of the Elfwine Chronicles. The Elfwine Chronicles are a series of one-shots built around the family group of Eomer, Lothiriel and Elfwine. The total number will depend on how many ideas I get for new vignettes.**_

_**A/N: This is an adjunct story to Treason. shie1dmaidenofrohan had mentioned this concept, but I've only now had an idea of what to do with it.**_

**Forgiveness**

**(July, 6 IV)**

"Papa?"

Eomer looked up in surprise at the query from his five-year-old son. "Elfwine? Should not you be asleep, little one?" he asked, rising from his desk chair and moving to scoop the boy up in his arms.

Elfwine nodded apologetically and laid his head against Eomer's shoulder. "I could not sleep," he murmured softly.

"Bad dreams?" Eomer asked with concern. After the kidnapping, he knew the child was still sometimes troubled by such, though they did seem to be decreasing in frequency as time went on.

"No." There was silence for a moment, and then Elfwine continued, "Papa, why is Eothain sad?"

The king let out a low sigh. Ah, yes, Eothain. Eothain, with the easy grin and infectious laugh, had become somber and grim of late. He had been much affected by Elfwine's abduction, but Eomer had not realized the boy was so aware of the change.

Walking over to the couch, Eomer settled them comfortably while he considered his response. Finally, he explained, "Eothain...blames himself that you were taken by those men, that he did not prevent it."

"But, it was not his fault!" the child immediately exclaimed. "I had to go with them!"

Eomer raised an eyebrow, asking, "What do you mean?"

"They said they would kill him if I was not silent, and I did not want that to happen. So I did what they told me. It is my fault, not Eothain's." He gazed earnestly up at his father, hoping he understood.

Eomer's arms tightened around the boy, and he pressed a kiss to his tousled hair. "That was very brave of you, son, to protect Eothain even though you were frightened."

Elfwine snuggled back into his shoulder, yawning sleepily. "I had to do it. Eothain is my friend and I did not want him hurt," came the simple response.

xxx

Eothain looked up in surprise at the loud rapping on his door. It was rather late for visitors. Quickly he pulled on a shirt, since he didn't know who was there and whether they might not approve of his opening the door only partially clad. He stopped in the process of straightening it when he recognized his king, and dearest friend, in the light from his candles.

"Eomer...come in," he said, stepping aside to permit it.

The other man quickly entered, glancing around at the familiar surroundings. The two had spent quite a bit of time in this room, talking of many things. Without comment, Eomer settled himself at the small table, and after a moment Eothain followed suit. "A bit late for visiting, is it not?" he inquired, shooting a curious look at his friend.

"Perhaps, but I have just had a conversation with my son, and I did not wish to wait until tomorrow," Eomer told him.

"Elfwine?" Eothain asked with some confusion. "What did he say?"

Eomer picked up a bridle laying on the table, that Eothain had been repairing, and began fingering it, not looking at Eothain as he explained, "Did you never wonder why the boy raised no alarm the night he was taken from you?"

In truth, Eothain had always assumed the boy had been quiet because he was afraid, but no one wanted to question Elfwine too closely about that night or press him for details, lest it continue to feed his fear, and the unpleasant dreams he suffered.

"I have wondered, yes," Eothain said slowly, unsure where this discussion was leading.

"He told me tonight. He left his bed and came to ask why you were so sad," Eomer replied, looking up, and Eothain wearily rubbed his face with both hands. Then the king continued, "When I told him you blamed yourself for not keeping him safe, he told me...he told me that _he_ was to blame rather than you, and that you should not be sad."

Eothain's head jerked up to gaze at the other man in horror. "He should never think he is responsible in any way! You must make him understand that!"

The big man's agitation was clear, and Eomer laid a hand on his arm. "I do not think he will ever agree with you on that point. He kept silent that night in order to protect you, and he assures me he would do it again if he had to. He says he loves you very much, and did not want those bad men to kill you."

Eothain let out a groan, and stood, moving away. "Elfwine!" he said softly under his breath.

Eomer now rose as well. "The boy is right, Eothain. I would have done the same thing if it had been me. Had I thought your life in danger should I resist, I would have given in as he did, and trusted you to come rescue me."

Eothain turned to look at him, mortified. "That is ridiculous! You are the king and–"

"I am your friend, and I would do whatever I had to do to protect one I care for so very much. It seems my son takes after me in that regard. You may have been given the task to keep us safe, but like it or not, we cannot help ourselves in also wanting to keep _you_ safe, my friend."

They stood staring at one another for several long moments, and then Eomer told him sincerely, "Please, forgive yourself for what happened, Eothain, and move on. None of us anticipated such a thing, and now that we do, we shall be more careful. But all of us would have our dear Eothain back, not the sadsack who has replaced him of late." He chuckled, then added, "Even Thiri says she misses you, despite how much you annoy her!"

Eothain could not restrain a grin at the remark. He and the queen had built a relationship consisting largely of friendly bickering, but underlying their words, there was true affection for one another. He had never doubted that, and her defense of him when he was accused of treason had only made him more certain.

His shoulders slumped, and then he shrugged. "I will try."

"Good." They stood in silence a moment, and then Eomer clasped him in a firm embrace. "And if I do not see a satisfactory change, I will send Elfwine to spend time with you until your good humor is restored. He will not tolerate his friend being so unhappy. Nor will I."

Eothain swallowed hard and nodded, stepping back. At length, he said, "You should get home. Your pretty little bride will have my hide if I keep you out too late."

Eomer grinned, "And do not forget that!" They nodded to one another again, and then Eomer turned and let himself out.

For a long time that night, Eothain sat staring into the fire, contemplating their exchange. It would be difficult to not feel guilty about what had happened, that he had not kept Elfwine safe, but perhaps they were right. Perhaps no one could have done any better. And he had already determined that nothing similar would happen again. That was all that could be done now. The past could not be changed. More importantly, he would not have Elfwine relive that experience every time he looked at Eothain and saw his sadness. No, it was time to be the Eothain he was before, but this Eothain would just be more cautious about trusting anyone.

THE END

3/16/07

(Point of reference: Elfwine is 5 here; "Treason" took place in Mar, 6 IV)

**_End note:  It is best that you read the Elfwine Chronicles in the order they were written. The more of them that I wrote, the more likely I was to make reference to one of the previous ones and something that happened there. If you want to read them in order, go to the top of this page and click on my name (Deandra). That will take you to my profile page. Scroll down and you will find all the stories I have written. The Elfwine Chronicles are in order from bottom to top since ffn shows them in the order they were posted. A few were posted out of number order, but you can read them in posting order or number order since those few won't be affected in the story content._**


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